Government Turns Up Nose at Indoor Smoking

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Smokers lighting up in the comfort of their homes will no longer be able to continue in safe anonymity. On August 9, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it had revised existing regulations to cut down on indoor smoking in residential apartments.

Under the new policy, apartment security will now be given the authority to check apartment suites suspected of generating secondhand smoke when complaints of secondhand smoke are registered by residents.

Under the new policy, apartment security will now be given the authority to check apartment suites suspected of generating secondhand smoke when complaints of secondhand smoke are registered by residents. (Image: tvN’s “Dear My Friends)

The initial regulation in place to deal with excessive secondhand smoke from indoor smoking gave residents the opportunity to lodge official complaints with departments in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or the Ministry of Environment. These measures were not included in the revised policy.

Compared to other common disputes between residents in apartments such as noisy neighbors, secondhand smoke wafting up through bathroom pipes and open windows is harder to reconcile merely due to the fact that it is almost impossible to identify which apartment suite the smoke is coming from.

Compared to other common disputes between residents in apartments such as noisy neighbors, secondhand smoke wafting up through bathroom pipes and open windows is harder to reconcile merely due to the fact that it is almost impossible to identify which apartment suite the smoke is coming from. (Image: Yonhap)

Smoking in elevators, stairways and hallways of apartment buildings is already prohibited by law.

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